Hemel Hempstead Website

The traditional and harmonious sound of Barber Shop singing is alive and kicking in the form of
The Knights of Harmony
who regularly meet up for rehearsals, live performances and social functions.

About Us

The Knights of Harmony started in Chesham, under the name of the Buckaneers, back in 1975. Under the inspired leadership of John Wiggins, the chorus regularly appeared in barbershop contests, as well as providing entertainment for many local events and organisations.

In 1989, the chorus moved to Hemel Hempstead, changing its name to The Highwaymen. After a further seven years, the chorus returned to Chesham, this time under the "Knights of Harmony" banner.  Now under the leadership of Tony Searle as our Musical Director, the chorus continues to grow and improve.

As a chorus, we have appeared regularly in the top ten at the annual British Association of Barbershop Singers conventions.

The chorus also undertakes many performances each year, for example at fund raising events, dinners, socials and even in shopping centres.

In addition, the chorus has travelled abroad. The first trip was to the Chesham twin town of Friedrichsdorf in Germany, where the chorus took part in the celebration of that town's 350 anniversary. In 1991, we made a highly successful visit to Florida and in 1996, the chorus travelled to the Greek island of Zakinthos to take part in the island's music festival. In 1997 the chorus made a visit to Athlone to take part in the Irish Convention.

The chorus attracts members with a wide variety of musical knowledge, from those with a solid grounding in music theory, to many members who have no previous experience or music reading skills, but who simply want to sing with a good quality chorus.  Our only requirement is that every member can demonstrate musical aptitude and a willingness to continue to learn and improve.

We have one regular quartet in the club, The Late Shift, who have their own page on our web site.

What is Barber Shop?

Barbershop harmony is a musical style which is easily distinguished by most listeners.  It has some unusual features, which quickly mark out any barbershop group, whether chorus or quartet.

First, all our music is performed a capella, or unaccompanied.  The only instrument used in our performances is the pitch pipe used to give the key note of the song being performed.

Next, barbershop music, whether sung by a chorus or quartet, consist of four (and only four) separate voice parts. Unusually, the melody is not generally carried by the top voice, as in almost every other style of music. With barbershop, the second voice down (called the Lead) carries the tune, while the tenor voice, at the top, provides a descant-like accompaniment. The foundation of each chord is provided by the bass singer, while the baritone normally sings between bass and lead lines.

Barbershop music also makes considerable use of the so-called barbershop seventh, which is really a flat 7th chord. This too gives a particular feel to our music.

The early barbershop singers did not use printed music, but simply invented their parts to make the chords sound right. As a result, barbershop music tends to use simple, easily sung melodies, although there are also many modern songs in our repertoire.

Barber Shop Singing Lessons

Knights of Harmony singing course teachers, Trevor Chrich & John Wiggins are thanked at the end of the course final concert

Chesham's Whitehill Centre was the scene, on Thursday 1 November, for the final concert of an eight-week close harmony singing course provided, free of charge, by local barbershop chorus the Knights of Harmony. Very few of the 22 men, mainly from Buckinghamshire, had ever sung in performance since primary school, and so nerves were a little tense before they took the stage in front of a hundred-strong audience of partners, children, friends and the experienced singers from the Knights chorus - including the current chairman of the British Association of Barbershop Singers, together with five past presidents.

The course sang four numbers, including an arrangement of "Edelweiss" from The Sound of Music, making a splendid sound. Seasoned singers were unanimous in their praise for the members of the course who had made such a huge amount of progress in a relatively short space of time.

The Knights of Harmony, now ranked in the top 10 barbershop choruses in the UK after several years of improvement, are planning another singing course for 2008. Men of any age interested in learning to sing in four part close harmony do not need to wait until then, as prospective new members and visitors are welcome at the Whitehill Centre in Chesham on any Thursday evening. Rehearsals run between 8.00pm and 10.30pm.

Our website www.knightsofharmony.org.uk

Contact Information